Taoujdad – west face · Taghia · Morocco
Read the cautionsBail with caveatsBolting confidence: medium
A less-travelled neighbour of Au nom de la Réforme: a sustained 6b crack pitch, an unusual 6c that climbs through a hole and out left with one bouldery move, then three long pitches of 6a to 6a+ up a pillar. Getting off cleanly means either the sparsely bolted summit pitches or a short traverse to the Réforme abseils.
The five hard pitches are reported well bolted, but the summit exit is not, and the documented escape is a traverse into a neighbouring route's abseils.
The route
El Geonauta takes the west face of the Taoujdad just down and left of the Réforme start. After a long grade-3 approach pitch shared with the Réforme, five pitches of 6b, 6c, 6a, 6a+ and 6a follow, the 6c being a single hard move. Opinions differ: 2023 and 2025 parties liked it as much as or more than the Réforme, while a 2026 party was disappointed by a dusty first pitch and slippery rock at the crux. Its weak point for a quickdraws-only team is the exit, covered under descent.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 3 | 70 m | Up the lower ramp for about 30 m, cross to its far side and down-climb 2 m to the starting belay of Au nom de la Réforme. From there down-climb about 10 m to a grassy ledge and follow it for another 10 m, passing a route that comes up from below (Into the Blue). Belay on two silver bolts at the foot of a big block. A thin crack is visible half-way up the next pitch. |
| P2 | 6b | 40 m | Follow the crack; sustained. Found dusty by a 2026 party. |
| P3 | 6c | 45 m | Climb into the hole or gully, follow it leftwards, exit and continue left. One bouldery 6c move, physical and on slippery rock according to one party. Airy exit. |
| P4 | 6a | 25 m | Straight up above the belay. |
| P5 | 6a+ | 40 m | Up the pillar; the rock is slightly less good here. |
| P6 | 6a | 45 m | The final wall to the end of the bolted route. |
Getting there
From Marrakech go via Azilal to Zaouiat Ahansal: about 250 km and 5 to 6 hours, on tarmac throughout. From Zaouiat you walk up to Taghia or, since 2023, the gîtes can drive you up a track by 4x4. The gîtes in Taghia (Saïd's and Mohamed Amil's are the ones named in reports) offer half board and can arrange the taxi from Marrakech.
About 1 hour to the ramps, as for Au nom de la Réforme: from Taghia follow the stream past the springs to the gully between the Oujdad and the Taoujdad, climb it past the huge jammed block, and higher up take the cairned ledge leftwards to the foot of the big ramp.
Loading map
The point is approximate: it marks the area, not the crag.
Coordinates · area: approximate
Point from camptocamp waypoint 43127
Contains the route point. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.
Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.
Coordinates: 31.78014, -6.06288 (area)
Getting down
The camptocamp page describes continuing to the summit by two grade-5 pitches shared with the other routes, with 'a few bolts here and there', then following cairns to a 35 m abseil and tracks back to the approach gully. It adds that you can instead join the abseil lines of the other routes on the face. A May 2026 party did the latter in a storm, leaving the route after pitch 5 by a short traverse to the abseils of Au nom de la Réforme. If you carry only quickdraws, plan on the traverse to the Réforme abseils.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
There is no stated abseil line down the route itself. The one documented retreat, in May 2026, left the route after pitch 5 by a short traverse into the abseils of Au nom de la Réforme. That party also noted that after R2 you must reach at least R5 to get out.
Safety
Sun and weather
West face of a 2600 m summit, in shade in the morning. Reports are from April, May and October. A May 2026 party was caught by an unforecast thunderstorm on the route.
Sun on the wall · W-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Moroccan time), for the 15th of each month.
Climate figures for Taghia are not available yet
What to carry
Quickdraws for pitches of up to 45 m; no number is published and the neighbouring routes ask for 10 to 12. Two ropes if you intend to abseil the Réforme. A few nuts or cams for the summit pitches if you go that way. Helmet.
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to El Geonauta.
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
Morocco · Taghia
The friendly way into Taghia, starting at the water's edge beside the springs. Seven varied pitches, well bolted by Taghia standards. Go left around the unstable rock below the second belay; fragile blocks are marked in red. In shade until midday.
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Committing
Morocco · Taghia
The easiest bolted line at Taghia: three steep 5c walls linked by two long, easy garden pitches. Goes into shade around midday in April.
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Read the cautions
Morocco · Taghia
The classic first route at Taghia: steep, water-sculpted red limestone on the west face of the Taoujdad, with a 6c third pitch that is 6b until a short crux below the belay. It is better bolted than most Taghia routes and correspondingly popular, so some pitches are polished.
6c7 pitches300 m
Morocco · Taghia
Five pitches on new, very rough red rock just right of Au nom de la Réforme. The first three are steep, fingery and continuous with one short crux each; the last two are much easier. The original grades are 7a+, 7a and 6c+, now widely thought generous, and the cruxes are bolted closely enough to pull through.
6c+5 pitches200 m
Around 6c · about 6 pitches
Greece · Leonidio & Kyparissi
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6c6 pitches200 m
Morocco · Todra Gorge (Todgha)
Six pitches of technical wall and corner climbing one minute from the gorge-entrance guesthouses. Easy pitches alternate with three hard ones, and the 6b+ fourth pitch and the 6c last pitch are precise, footwork-heavy climbing on very rough rock. The route stops in the middle of the wall and you abseil off.
6c6 pitches160 m
Greece · Manikia (Evia)
A varied route in two tiers: two pitches of pocketed wall and sculpted slab, a walk across a big ledge, then four longer pitches up the main wall. The upper wall holds the 6c and a superb 40 m pitch of continuous vertical climbing. A quiet valley with a gentle walk down through meadow.
6c6 pitches200 m
Spain · El Chorro
Seven pitches up a steep south face at Frontales, sustained, physical and technical on very rough, unpolished limestone. The fifth pitch (6b+) is a thin slab and the sixth (6c) has a strenuous start and a crux on grey rock. It is one of the few 6c multipitch lines here with a clean abseil descent.
6c7 pitches195 m
Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.